Friday, 24 June 2016

I bought some lightweight white spot cotton from the Cloth House in Soho a few weeks ago. I wanted to make a light casual top, with a simple shape to make the most of the pattern. I liked the drawstring waist of my recent simplicity 8084 dress and decided to modify it to make a sleeveless tunic.

I am pleased with the result. I used French seams for a neat finish inside and to stop the loose weave cotton unraveling. The neck and armhole edges are bound with bias binding.

I have been watching the Great British Sewing Bee and decided to time myself. It took 5hrs 30minutes. Don't think I'd make the cut, however I did make my own bias binding and put the back section on back to front, so about an hour was unpicking three French seams.

Tuesday, 7 June 2016

I saw this dress pattern while pursing fabric in my local fabric store and bought the fabric to make it then and there. I like shirt dresses and have wanted to make one for a while, but had not found a pattern that I liked. I was drawn to this pattern as it is shown on the pattern envelope in a nice drapery red crepe which reminded me of this dress I have on my Pinterest fashion board (if only I was as stylish in real life as on Pinterest!)

I chose a viscose crepe in teal. The colours were limited in the shop I was in and although I love the teal, it would look lovely in a cobalt blue or my favourite colour if the moment, yellow.

I decided to underline the front, back and yoke sections of the dress with some standard lining fabric. I used cream as it was what I had. I did this to add a bit of weight and warmth as I hate when a unexpected cool summer breeze goes straight through your dress fabric. The lining also helped to stabilise the slippery crepe.

The pattern instructions were easy to follow and Mimi G has a helpful tutorial on YouTube. I like that the pattern uses a yoke instead of just front and back pieces as it adds some interest with the gathers. The most difficult part of the construction were the button plackets and the collar, but they were not very hard. It took me about three days to cut, Mark and sew.

It is really comfy to wear, especially because of the drawstring waist. I used plain 1/2 inch buttons down the front, except on the top button and sleeves where they can be seen.

I took the picture a few days after I had first worn it. The hem has developed a crease where it is blind-hemmed to the underlining and needs to be unpicked, smoothed out and resewn. I used a knit interfacing on the collar and it is not up to the job, unsurprisingly. The collar is a bit too droopy and folds over with this drapey fabric. Not a disaster, but i will make sure I use a stiffer interfacing next time.